A 28-year-old American man was sentenced to eight months in prison by the Denpasar Court yesterday. He was found guilty of assaulting a construction worker while intoxicated in Bali.
The convict, identified as Erick Kai Koester, was found guilty of violating Article 351 of Indonesia’s criminal code on assault.
“Thereby sentencing defendant Erick Kai Koester with eight months’ imprisonment,” presiding judge I Made Pasek said at the hearing.
The final sentence is less than what prosecutors previously demanded, which was 10 months in prison.
According to reports from local media, the incident took place last year on Aug. 17. Koester was rebuked by a construction worker, identified as Gede Budi Yadnya, for entering the construction area while drunk, to which Koester responded by cursing back.
“He said ‘fuck’ over and over again while drunk. Then [Koester] asked for a cigarette, which the victim gave him,” prosecutor I Nyoman Triarta said during the trial, adding that Budi then left the scene to go to a minimarket but was followed by Koester.
“Suddenly the defendant hit the victim with a fist, which bruised his ear until it bled,” Triarta explained, adding that Budi then chased Koester and took him to the police.
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